(Yicai Global) Sept. 18-- Artificial intelligence will subvert all commercial applications and affect everyone's life, Harry Shum, US tech giant Microsoft's global executive vice president, said. To keep up with the development, the firm will set up a smart tech lab in eastern China's megacity of Shanghai.

AI will advance human capacities, which requires that the design and development must start from the human standpoint, prioritizing people, Shum said while speaking at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference today. The smart tech event is held in Shanghai on Sept. 17 to 19.

Microsoft will set up Microsoft Research Asia Shanghai lab to promote the related research and development in the region, Shum, also known as Heung-Yeung Shum, said. This will add to the Washington-based firm's co-founded incubator Microsoft ScaleUp in the same city.

Robots are approaching or even surpassing many human sensory abilities, Shum said, adding that the technology still has a long way to go before it can reach human cognitive level.

The key is to expand AI to enhance human intelligence rather than to replace it when designing smart systems, Shum said. "We need to make sure that AI designers -- software engineers and algorithms scientists -- apply the right tools and have the proper awareness, which will help them design AI systems under the guidance of everlasting universal values," he added.

Editor: Emmi Laine